As the camera moved closer. Everyone finally saw what the newcomer looked like.
She was a young woman with a gentle, tranquil aura, her features delicate and beautiful.
She wore a long dress, with knee-high leather boots on her feet. Her white-and-purple streaked hair fell smoothly over her shoulders.
At first glance, Castorice looked like a flower that stirred pity in the heart.
However, at the feet of this beautiful young woman was a conspicuous purple barrier forming a circle.
Inside the barrier, several of the Furiae monsters stood completely motionless in place.
"Lord Phainon. And... the two guests."
"Welcome to Okhema."
Castorice stopped about five steps away from Stelle and Dan Heng and spoke softly.
Phainon turned towards the young woman, "When I heard your footsteps, I thought Death was already writing my final chapter before my heroic journey had even begun..."
"Miss Castorice."
Dan Heng stared deeply at the purple line surrounding Castorice.
Though he didn't understand what kind of power it was, he keenly sensed a danger from it.
It was an extremely cold aura, so ominous that even he felt uneasy. As if, in the unseen depths, a vast darkness was about to swallow him whole.
Tribbie, Phainon, Mydei. The current Castorice was the fourth person with a unique power.
And from the looks of it, Phainon was also extremely wary of her abilities.
Stelle on the other hand was lost in the girl's beautiful face, almost crossing the line but was pulled back by Dan Heng.
"I'll take you to the place where Strife Titan currently is..." Castorice said softly.
Her voice, like her temperament, was exceptionally gentle. It was hard to imagine that such a girl could be associated with death.
Under Castorice's guidance. Everyone cautiously stayed five steps behind her as they advanced toward the Marmoreal Palace.
The Furiae along the way, just like their first encounter with Castorice, became calm and serene.
Any Furiae Warrior that stepped into the line around her immediately lost all vitality, turning into a true statue.
This scene left the audience stunned.
After all, whether it was Phainon, Mydei, or even the Astral Express crew, dealing with these enemies always required action.
But Castorice merely had to walk gracefully, and all the enemies in her path were solved.
Especially when Castorice took each step within the barrier, unknown flowers bloomed beneath her feet.
Step by step, flowers emerged, yet they were tied to death. This extreme contrast drove the barrage of comments into a frenzy.
...
: The Chrysos Heirs' entrances are always extraordinary!
: Oh my god! What kind of entrance is this, beautiful and terrifying at the same time!
: White-purple streaked hair! Gentle face! Long dress and boots! Standing on a death barrier?! This contrast sends me straight into orbit!
: Step-by-step flower blossoms (literal physical salvation edition)
: I can't take it anymore! First the loli group, then the college guy group, and now a death-god type! Aaaah!
: Elegant! Too elegant! Killing without lifting a finger!
: Miss Castorice's combat power must be insane, right?
: This ability is basically a combat artifact!
...
On screen. Under Castorice's guidance, the group advanced without obstruction.
Along the way, Phainon also explained Castorice's background.
"Miss Castorice is the emissary of the Ashen Hand."
"In other words, the Death Titan."
Phainon explained, "Any life that comes into contact with Miss Castorice will inevitably return to the path of death."
"..." Upon hearing this, Castorice slightly lowered her head.
But she said nothing.
Not long after, they arrived at the edge of a cliff. Across the cliff stood a series of magnificent buildings.
"You should go and face the conflict now." Castorice stopped here, hands clasped in front of her, her posture somewhat reserved.
"Miss Castorice, why aren't you joining us?" Phainon asked.
"'l must stay here and ensure that these soldiers do not destroy the city." Castorice spoke lightly.
Phainon said no more and motioned for Stelle and Dan Heng to stand with him.
"Although it looks far. With the Titan's blessing in this thing, we can reach the other side in an instant."
Under Phainon's guidance, Stelle and Dan Heng also mastered the method of using the Janus's Hidden Passage.
As long as they used their consciousness to link two anchor points, they could instantly appear at either location.
This method left the two deeply surprised.
Whether by coincidence or not, the nature of this power bore a striking resemblance to the Astral Rails of the Trailblaze!
The audience noticed this as well. But Amphoreus had revealed too little so far, so everyone could only bury this doubt in their hearts.
After crossing over to the other side and walking along the straight pathway, the three finally arrived within the Marmoreal Palace.
At this moment, the camera shifted to a bird's-eye view.
Revealing a huge bathhouse constructed entirely of marble.
Countless luxurious arches, along with cascading curtains of water from above, turned this bathhouse-like opulent space into a place that perfectly matched the name "Marmoreal Palace."
But now, there was not a single figure inside the palace.
After the trio passed through the water curtains, they only saw, at the dome above, a gigantic, overbearing figure!
It wielded a golden spear. Its entire body was formed of gray-white stone.
Head and chest, all sharply angular. Overflowing with the aura of war.
The moment the three looked at it, it noticed them as well!
"Careful!"
Phainon summoned his great sword and shouted solemnly, "That's the incarnation of the Strife Titan, Nikador!"
Along the way, Stelle and Dan Heng had already heard of the countless disasters caused by Nikador.
Although they were ready to face the titan's incarnation, it still affected them a bit, looking at the opponent.
Just as their thoughts fell into turmoil, Nikador's incarnation descended from the sky like a cannonball, smashing violently into the ground before them.
Intense music surged abruptly!
Within the dust, a deep, powerful chant exploded forth.
The golden spear split the smoke apart, revealing the incarnation's true form.
When the close-up of the incarnation appeared.
The incarnation gave the audience an indescribable feeling.
Its limbs were long, resembling both a mecha and a suit of armor. Its right hand braced the spear, the left one planted firmly on the ground.
Yet its left hand and left leg were crawling against the floor.
Half standing, half prone. This strange posture perfectly conveyed the madness and oppression of the incarnation.
On the screen, a line of blood-red text appeared below.
[Savage God · Mad King · Incarnation of Strife]
The background sound, dangerous strings mixed with grand male chanting, immediately sent chills down the audience's spines.
A performance of this level. No matter how you looked at it, this should have been a final-boss battle.
So how could it appear so early in Amphoreus?!
...
: Eh, eh, eh???
: Are they about to start fighting already?!
: I haven't even recovered from Miss Castorice's beauty and the scenery of the Marmoreal Palace yet!
: Wait, no, this BGM, this staging, this pressure… I'm already standing straight from it! Absolute hype overload?!
: Is the main story of Amphoreus this rich?!
: Damn, if the very first episode already has such a fierce battle, what are they supposed to do later?!
: I've got to say, MiHoYo's production team really has taste! This design, half standing like a knight, half prone like a wild beast, is insane.
: Before this, everything about Nikador's madness was just hearsay from others, but the moment I saw this design, that sense of crazed oppression instantly became real!
: With effects like this, you could tell me it's the final boss and I'd believe it!
: So good! Fighting feels so good!"
...
The comments flew past like crazy.
On screen, this frenzied incarnation had already launched a fierce attack.
It raised the golden spear in its hand high into the air. Huge golden rings appeared beneath the feet of the three.
The next second, whether it was shockwaves or blood energy, something erupted violently from those rings.
If the three hadn't dodged in time, they would have taken the hit head-on!
But, that was only a feint by the incarnation.
Just as everyone dodged, in the sky above, vast numbers of illusory spearheads appeared, falling like rain!
Though they looked unreal, the damage they did was very real! Every spear that struck the marble floor smashed out a massive crater.
"Dan Heng!" Stelle dodged a long spear, only to see Dan Heng, who had leapt into the air, get caught in close combat by Nikador.
The golden spear swung down with overwhelming force, instantly smashing Dan Heng away!
Meanwhile, Phainon had somehow circled behind Nikador. Holding his great sword high, he leapt up, aiming to strike down from above!
However, the incarnation wasn't just massive, it was incredibly agile.
It's seemingly heavy golden spear moved in its hands as if it weighed nothing, twisting at an inconceivable angle and striking back in a sudden counterattack, slamming directly into Phainon.
Phainon's expression changed as he clearly felt an enormous force transmit through his weapon.
The next second, like Dan Heng, he was also sent flying!
"!!!" The incarnation chanted in a voice filled with killing intent.
It reset its stance, drawing back as if to throw the spear, preparing to pierce Phainon, who was still airborne and unable to adjust his position.
At that moment, a burst of flame ignited within the frame!
"Flame Lance! Charge!"
Stelle gripped the massive flaming lance with both hands and, like a blazing runaway truck, lowered her head and slammed straight into Nikador.
The charging speed of the flame lance was terrifying. The incarnation instinctively swung the shaft of its spear to block.
But Stelle didn't care at all about the spear butt thrusting toward her body. Putting all her strength into it, she drove the flame lance straight into Nikador.
"What are you even babbling about?! I'll pummel you to death!"
Boom! A horrifying force, wrapped in roaring flames, Stelle actually sent the incarnation flying seven or eight meters away!
The incarnation staggered as it barely regained its footing, its feet carving a long gouge into the ground.
And the spear butt that had swept across Stelle's body earlier was blocked by some unknown shield, causing no real damage to her at all.
"I… damn…" Phainon, who had been sent flying, climbed back up from the ground, staring wide-eyed at Stelle holding the flame lance.
Dan Heng also quickly returned to the battlefield, moving to Stelle's side and looking at her with concern.
"Are you okay? Just now,"
"I'm fine!"
"Haha!" Stelle rubbed her forehead, about to strike a cool pose, when she suddenly felt a sharp pain.
Looking down, she saw a bruise left behind by Nikador's earlier strike.
"Hmph. I'd say Nikador is nothing special."
"Relax, Dan Heng. I can totally tank it!" Stelle grinned smugly.
"That's good." Dan Heng finally let out a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Phainon staggered over.
With the shock of a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time, he sincerely gave a thumbs-up.
Awesome. Even as a Chrysos Heirs, this was the first time Phainon had ever seen someone tank a full on blow of a Titan's incarnation.
The visual impact was overwhelming!
The audience was completely stunned as well.
...
: Sister Stelle!!! My superhero!!
: Just Nikador? In front of our Galactic Baseballer, you're nothing!
: I'm dying laughing, this is such a grand, intense scene, and Stelle just uses a simple frontal charge to send Nikador flying!
: If this Titan weren't insane already, it probably wouldn't be able to handle this.
: When it comes to brute-force, you've gotta look at Stelle!"
: Phainon's 'I… damn…' expression had me crying, bro's worldview just shattered into pieces.
: Time to let these Amphoreus natives taste some Trailblazer local specialties.
: This is an unavoidable step on the path of trailblazing.
: A iaijutsu from beyond the stars!
...
The audience was laughing themselves apart. This incarnation of Nikador had no consciousness.
Otherwise, its reaction would have been even more entertaining.
After regaining its footing, whether from rage or madness, the incarnation once again swung its golden spear and thrust toward the three.
But just then, in their field of vision, strands of golden threads appeared in the air, instantly filling the entire space.
Nikador's incarnation froze mid-thrust, tightly bound by those golden threads.
The background music and chants also began to shift in tone.
Upon seeing the golden threads, Phainon immediately exclaimed in delight, "Reinforcements are here! Everyone, it's time to take down the incarnation of the Strife Titan!"
In truth, Phainon didn't even need to say it. Stelle and Dan Heng had already realized, this was their opening!
All three charged at the incarnation at once. Phainon slashed Nikador down with a single strike. Stelle's flame lance followed immediately, once again smashing it flying.
Dan Heng's condensed water spear, meanwhile, struck solidly into Nikador's limbs.
Once the enemy's stance was completely broken, Phainon took a deep breath and delivered a powerful finishing slash, ending the incarnation of the Strife Titan.